Safe and Sound
by HPLover1109
Summary: Set in POA. Fred and George figure out that Harry's being abused by the Dursleys and report it to Professor Lupin. Fred's POV. No slash. This is the first story I've posted.
1. Chapter 1

Fred groaned as he felt someone trying to shake him awake.

"Five more minutes," he slurred.

"Wake up Fred! It's Harry! What do we do?" a voice pleaded. Fred opened his eyes and looked at his little brother.

"I'm going to need a little more information than that to help you," he said, rubbing his eyes while attempting to smile reassuringly at his brother.

"Harry's thrashing around in his sleep and crying and we can't get him to wake up and no matter what we try to do, it only makes things worse!" Ron said, looking up at his brother with pleading eyes. "We need your help!"

Fred woke up a little bit at this. " Give me five minutes and I'll be down there. You go make sure nobody makes things worse," Fred told Ron.

As Ron ran off, Fred put on his slippers and noticed George doing the same. They both headed after their little brother. As they entered the dorm room, they saw four boys huddled together by one of the beds.

"Let us through," George told the boys, and as they swiftly made their way to Harry's bedside, Fred was able to make out what Harry was whimpering.

"Please... No more... I promise I'll be good..."

" Does this happen often?" Fred asked the boys.

"I guess," Dean shrugged.

" Usually he wakes up on his own or one of us is able to wake him up by this point though," Neville spoke fearfully.

"One of you should go get a professor," George told the boys calmly.

"Why? What's going on?" Seamus asked.

" It's not our place to explain that to you," Fred said, realizing that he and his twin had the same suspicions about this nightmare as he thought back to the bars on the younger boy's window last summer. Seamus looked reluctant to get a professor until he knew what was going on, but Neville had already run out of the room. As they waited for the timid third year to come back, Fred climbed onto the bed with Harry, and wrapped him in a hug from behind.

"It's okay Harry," he whispered, as he rocked the smaller boy back and forth. "It's just me, Fred. And I promise that no one will hurt you while I'm around."

George took the terrified boy's hand, and started murmuring more soothing words. Meanwhile, Ron and his roommates looked on with wide eyes.

"I brought Professor Lupin," Neville announced when he got back, wringing his hands.

"Thank you Neville," Fred said, smiling reassuringly at him before returning his full attention to the boy in his lap.

"Why'd you send Neville to get me?" Professor Lupin asked the twins. Fred looked George in the eye and jerked his chin slightly in the direction if the professor, and George took the cue, letting go of Harry's hand and leading the man outside to discuss the issue.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, I've got you," Fred murmured in Harry's ear while George explained their suspicions to the professor.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ron asked, worried.

"Yeah, Ron, he'll be fine," Fred tried to reassure his little brother and the boy he held in his arms at the same time. Finally, Harry woke up. He thrashed frantically in Fred's arms before he seemed to realize where he was. Not long after, George and Professor Lupin walked back into the room.

"Could you all leave the room so I can talk to Harry in private?" Professor Lupin asked.

"No!" Harry shouted, panicked. "I want Fred and George to stay!" The two mentioned looked at Harry in surprise. They had already figured out that Harry wouldn't be comfortable talking to Professor Lupin alone, but they had figured he'd want Ron to stay with him, not them.

"That's fine, I suppose," Professor Lupin said, crouching down in front of Harry as the others left the room, Ron glancing back at his friend with worry and just a hint of betrayal clear on his face. Once the door was shut, Professor Lupin cast a silencing charm on the room so that nobody could hear their conversation. "Now," he said, looking Harry in the eye. "Fred and George seem to be worried about your home life. Could you tell me why?"


	2. Chapter 2

Harry's eyes widened and he tried to bolt from the room. George quickly stood in the doorway to block his escape, though, and as the boy looked frantically for an exit, Fred gathered him into his arms and carried him back to his bed. Harry seemed to realize there was no point in struggling and went slack, instead burying his face into Fred's chest.

"Harry?" Professor Lupin questioned gently.

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry mumbled.

"Why not?" Professor Lupin asked.

"It's the rules," Harry said hesitantly, burying himself even deeper into Fred's shirt.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, tightening his hold around the boy slightly, worried.

"I can't talk about the Dursleys or I'll get in trouble," Harry whispered, seemingly more as a reminder to himself than as a response to Fred's question.

"Why would you get in trouble?" George, who had moved over to stand by the bed, questioned as he crouched next to Harry and gently pried his hand from Fred's shirt in order to hold it in his own.

"Because I'll make them look bad! And I should just be grateful that they took me in anyway," Harry told them.

"Harry, I'm going to ask you again, and this time I want you to answer me and ignore the rules," Professor Lupin spoke up. "Can you think of any reason why Fred and George would believe you're being abused?" Fred noted that he hadn't asked Harry if the accusations were true yet. He supposed Professor Lupin wanted to ease Harry into this conversation as much as he could without dancing around the subject.

"It could be because of the bars on the window," Harry admitted, peeking at the professor before burying his head back into Fred's shirt.

"What bars?" Professor Lupin questioned, looking at Fred and George curiously.

"When we went to pick Harry up from his relatives' last summer," George started.

"Ron was worried about Harry, you see, because he hadn't been responding to any of his letters," Fred explained.

"We had to break him out," George continued, "Because there were bars on his window."

"Ron was almost certain from far away that that was Harry's room too," Fred told the professor.

"And when we went to get his stuff, it was all locked in a cupboard downstairs," George said.

"And don't forget about the catflap on Harry's door, or all of the locks we had to pick to get into the cupboard," Fred reminded his twin.

"And why didn't you two come to a teacher with this before, then?" Professor Lupin asked the twins. Fred could tell he was frustrated with them.

"We were a little preoccupied with trying to keep him, Ron, and Ginny safe at _school _last year sir," George said defensively.

"And, we tried to tell mum about it when we got home, but she didn't believe us," Fred added.

"Harry, did _you_ ever try to tell someone about your room?" the professor inquired gently.

"I thought somebody already knew," Harry said, shaking his head slightly.

"And why would somebody have known if nobody told them Harry?" Fred asked, confused.

"Because they knew about the cupboard, and they knew when I was moved to Dudley's second bedroom. I just assumed they knew about everything else too," Harry explained, and Fred's heart dropped.

"What do you mean, they knew about the cupboard?" George asked slowly, clearly afraid of what the answer was going to be.

"My first Hogwarts letter," Harry said. "It was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why was it addressed there?" Fred asked, frowning a bit.

"That's where I slept until I was almost eleven," Harry admitted. Fred struggled to hold back his anger. He didn't want Harry to think that he was mad at _him_ afterall.

"Harry, why don't we take you to see Madam Pomfrey?" Professor Lupin asked gently. "We can continue this conversation there, but I'm worried that you might need her help, so I'd like to have her take a look at you." Fred felt Harry tense up in his arms at that, but eventually he relaxed enough to give a reluctant nod. Fred stood, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder as George gripped the other, and they guided him out of the room, shouldering past the worried third year boys, with only a quick reassuring glance at Ron, as the professor trailed behind them.

"So, Quidditch tryouts are coming up soon, are you ready for them?" George asked Harry as they walked to the Hospital Wing in an attempt to break the silence before it became awkward.

"Yeah," Harry beamed excitedly. "I mean, I might be a bit rusty, 'cause I can't practice over the summer, but I still think I'm good enough to get the seeker position again this year."

"Don't get your hopes up too high, Harry," Professor Lupin spoke up. "Madam Pomfrey might not even let you try out if her exam goes the way I think it will."

"In which case, we'll have to enforce her rules, Harry," Fred said gently.

"But why?" Harry asked.

"It might not be healthy for you to play Quidditch this year," Professor Lupin explained.

"And as much as George and I want to see you happy, you need to be healthy first," Fred told the boy, who visibly deflated.

"Would I still be able to fly?" Harry asked, already resigning himself to not being able to play Quidditch for a whole _year_.

"It depends on the outcome of your checkup," Professor Lupin told him.

"But I need to be able to fly!" Harry protested. "I'll go insane if I can't!"

"He uses it as a coping method," Fred explained at Professor Lupin's amused look. "Most members of the team go for a fly after a rough day."

"Well, you might have to develop new coping methods then," the professor informed Harry sympathetically as the neared the Hospital Wing.

As soon as the door opened, the matron immediately began fussing over Harry. "In the Hospital Wing already, Mr. Potter?" she questioned, incredulously."It's barely even a week into the school year! What could you have possibly done to yourself already? And this late at night too!"

"He had a nightmare that prompted the Weasley twins to accuse his relatives of abusing him," Professor Lupin informed her. "And based on the conversation I've had with him so far, it seems like their concerns are very well founded. I was wondering if you could run a full scan on him and draw up a list of all past and current injuries that were likely a result of abuse or neglect. We need to build up our case against his relatives."

"Of course I can run an exam on the poor dear!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Now you just sit down right here, and I'll be back in just a minute," she sat Harry down on one of the beds and disappeared into a side room. She quickly reappeared with a few brightly colored bottles in her hands.

"If you would just take these, dear," she told Harry, "then we can get started with the examination. They'll make injuries that aren't always apparent on a regular scan apparent." Harry grimaced, but plugged his nose and downed the potions without complaint. "Now just let me cast the diagnostic spells," the matron mumbled under her breath. A roll of parchment appeared and started unrolling as new injuries were catalogued and added to the list. As the roll unravelled, leaving a trail that grew ever longer on the floor, Fred's heart sunk. Was Harry's home life really _that _bad?


	4. Chapter 4

When the roll of parchment finally stopped, it reached halfway down the aisle of beds. Madam Pomfrey read the list over, 'tsk'ing the whole time. Finally, she rolled the parchment back up, handing it to Professor Lupin before speaking.

"It would appear, Mr. Potter, that our most immediate concern for you physically is a severe case of malnutrition. Most of that list is injuries that didn't heal properly, but we'll worry about those once you're at a healthy weight. I would like to see you eat more, and I'll also prescribe you some nutrient potions. Also, no exerting yourself unnecessarily. Yes, that includes flying Mr. Potter," the matron cut off Harry before he could even ask. "I'd also like to see about getting a mind healer in here, because from the amount of improperly healed injuries you've had, I have no doubt that Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley were correct in their accusations of your relatives, and it really is best if you talk to someone about that."

"I'll take the potions and eat more and stuff, but do I really have to see a mind healer?" Harry protested. "I mean, it's not like I'm crazy or something."

"Nobody ever said you were, Mr. Potter. But sometimes it helps to talk about our problems with someone who isn't allowed to judge us. Isn't that right, Professor Lupin?"

"That's right," Professor Lupin agreed. "In fact, I happen to meet with a mind healer once a week myself."

"And George and I see one too," Fred revealed to Harry.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, with you and Ron risking your lives every year so far," George started.

"We often feel helpless and worried about you two," Fred continued.

"And after what happened with Ginny last year," George picked up.

"We sometimes need to talk to someone, or everything overwhelms us," Fred finished.

"But what if I don't want to talk to a mind healer?" Harry asked stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"Then you can just sit there in silence with the mind healer until you want to talk," George told him. "I've done it before."

"I don't think any of my patients have actually talked to a mind healer about their real problems at the first appointment," Madam Pomfrey informed Harry kindly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure it's expected that you won't want to talk early on. But I still believe that it will be helpful in the long run. I'll try to schedule an appointment for you in the next week or so. Are there any times that work best for you?" she asked Harry.

"As long as I don't have any detentions, after dinner's fine I guess, " Harry shrugged reluctantly.

"I'll make sure that no teacher gives you a detention at the time of the appointment then," Madam Pomfrey nodded decisively.

"Do _all_ of the professors have to know?" Harry groaned.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, they do. Besides the fact that they need to work around your appointments when scheduling detentions or extra help sessions with you, it's also a good idea for them to be informed of the situation so that they can provide you with support in class if needed. Which professor do you not want to know about this Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey huffed.

"Professor Snape. He hates me! What do you think he'd do with this type of information on me?!" Harry replied.

"Professor Snape will not treat you poorly because of this, and if he does, he will have to answer to me. And I don't imagine your head of house would let him get away with it either, Mr. Potter. You will always be safe at Hogwarts."

Fred snickered a bit as he saw Harry struggling to suppress a yawn. "Madam Pomfrey, I think we'd best take him back to his dorm now," George told her.

"Of course, of course. Just make sure he stops by before each meal this week so that I can be sure he won't try to get away with not taking his potions," the matron said as she escorted the boys out of the hospital wing.

"We will," Fred and George chorused over their shoulders as they guided Harry back to Gryffindor Tower.


	5. Chapter 5

"Wake up Fred, or we'll be late for breakfast!" Lee said, shaking Fred's shoulder. Fred groaned.

"Just five more minutes," he grumbled into his pillow.

"Come on, mate! We've got to go, and I still haven't woken up George yet!" Lee insisted.

"Alright, alright, I'm up!" Fred said, half-heartedly swatting Lee's hand away. As Lee started attacking George with his pillow, Fred sleepily got dressed. Suddenly, he remembered what he and George had promised Madam Pomfrey the night before, and his eyes widened. He hastily finished getting dressed, stumbling a little, and told Lee that he'd meet up with him at breakfast before hurrying to the third years' dorm.

"You sure you're okay mate?" Fred heard Ron question through the door.

"I'm fine, I just need to get a potion before meals. Madam Pomfrey seems to think I need to gain some weight." Fred could practically hear Harry rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Harry, you ready to check in with Madam Pomfrey?" Fred said, leaning against the doorway with a slight grin.

"Yeah, now come on or we'll miss breakfast," Harry said, slinging his school bag over his shoulder and hurrying to Fred's side. "I'll see you at breakfast Ron!" he added before they left.

As they walked to Hospital Wing, something dawned on Fred. "Hey, Harry?" he asked.

"Yeah?" the boy replied, cocking his head to the side and looking at Fred curiously.

"About last night... " Harry seemed to shrink a little at that, "Why did you want me and George to stay? I mean, wouldn't Ron have made more sense?"

"Ron's a great friend," Harry started to explain, "But neither of us are all that comfortable with emotional stuff. And you and George just always seem to know how to make things better," he shrugged. "And anyway, I was kind of scared to be alone with Professor Lupin at the time, and you guys were more likely to be able to stop him if he did anything bad."

"Why were you afraid of Professor Lupin?" Fred asked curiously. "He seems like a pretty good guy if you ask me."

"I know that when I'm being _rational_" Harry rolled his eyes at Fred, "But after that nightmare, I was pretty shaken up, and not quite ready to trust an adult yet."

They fell silent as they approached the doors to the Hospital Wing and went inside. Madam Pomfrey appeared to give Harry his potion within seconds of them walking through the door, and her eyes roamed Harry's body, scanning for any harm that might have somehow come to him in the middle of the night as Harry hastily downed his potion. Before Madam Pomfrey seemed to be done with her observations, Harry spoke up.

"Well, thanks for the potion, but we really need to get downstairs before the food's all gone, right Fred?" he said, grabbing Fred by the arm and dragging him out of the Hospital Wing.

"What was that all about?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"I know that look she was giving me. It's her 'I'd really like you to stay in the hospital wing for a few days' look. And I don't want people asking how I managed to land myself in the hospital wing so early in the year," Harry explained. Soon, they entered the Great Hall, and Hermione flung herself onto Harry.

"Too bad about the worried questions, mate," Fred said, patting Harry on the back before joining Lee and George at their seats.


End file.
